ROMNEY RAISES $40 MILLION IN APRIL FOR CAMPAIGN

Fundraising success suggests GOP rallying for him

WASHINGTON 
Mitt Romney and his Republican Party raised $40 million in April, an unexpectedly strong haul in the first month of the general campaign that illustrates enthusiasm within the GOP and threatens President Barack Obama’s overwhelming cash advantage.

Since becoming the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, Romney has devoted most of his time to privately courting donors so he can prepare for what may be the most expensive campaign in history. His focus appears to be paying off. In just one month, Obama’s 10-to-1 cash advantage has shrunk to 2-to-1, partly because the Republican National Committee now is helping Romney. His fundraising numbers may offer the best evidence to date that weary Republican donors who spent months on the sidelines are finally opening their wallets for Romney after a long and bitter primary.

“Fundraising is going extremely well,” said Woody Johnson, a Romney fundraiser and New York Jets owner. “This is a very motivated group of people who are giving to this campaign.”

The former Massachusetts governor is putting that cash infusion to use quickly. He announced plans Thursday to go on the air soon with his first TV ads of the general campaign, a positive commercial intended to introduce him to voters. He was buying airtime in four of the most competitive battleground states: Iowa, North Carolina, Virginia and Ohio.

Romney’s April fundraising figures — a sharp increase from March, when he pulled in just $12.5 million while fending off primary opponents — show that he and the Republican National Committee together raised nearly as much money as the president and the Democratic National Committee, which together brought in $43.6 million last month.

Perhaps more important, Romney’s side reported $61.4 million in the bank. The most recent figure available for Obama and the Democratic National Committee showed $124 million on hand at the end of March.

Still, Romney’s new numbers don’t reflect millions of dollars more raised and spent by pro-Romney super political action committees to help the former Massachusetts governor.

Both Romney and Obama are busy stockpiling cash to make sure they have enough money to reach voters on television, the Internet, by mail and over the phone, and to support a network of staffers across the country.

Obama’s team, which boasts more than 600 paid staffers, has been working to strengthen its network on the ground for months. Romney is in the process of expanding his team.

“We’re pleased with where we are. We’ve been able to build a great ground operation in states across the country, which ultimately is what we believe will decide the election,” Obama’s deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter said when asked about fundraising.